Cake-stripping machine.



C. R. MILLER.

CAKE STRIPPINQ MACHINE. APPLICATION men SEPT. 1. 1914.

1,150,873. Patented A110. 24, 1915.

4 SHEETSSHEET 1.

Witnesses Attorneys.

COLUMBIA PLANOGKAPn LU, WASHINGTON. D. c.

C. R. MILLER.

CAKE STRIPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I. 1914.

1,150,873. A Patented Aug. 24,1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Witneses i 7 &

Attorneys.

C. R. MILLER.

CAKE STRIPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I. 1914.

1,150,873. Patent ed Aug. 24, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

C. R. MILLER.

CAKE STRIPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 1, 1914. 1,1 50,87 3. Patented Aug. 24, 1915.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

Inventor Attorneys COLUMBIA PLANOURAPH (10.. WASHINGTON. D. c.

UNHED STATES PATENT OFFHJE.

CHARLES R. MILLER, TEXAS.

cnxn-srnrrrrive MAC INE.

I Specification of 'Letters'Patent. h Pat e uted 24, 1915.

Application filed September 1, 1914. Serial at. 859,697.

An h r bject of th rinvention is t provide; ovel, meansfori pco yingi away the cloth after the same has been taken off the cake...- f I,

'A vther e je topfth'e inv n on is o P ovide means for tr-immingthe cake after the cloth hasbeen stripped off thecake.

1 it. is within, the. scope o the inv n n t improve generally, and toenhance the utility of devices of that type to which the present invention appertains.

\ With the aboveand other objects in view wh h w l appearas the e rip ion .p ceeds, the invention. resides in the combination. d ar angement of pa and in h details.of QnS fUC On,hereinafterdescribed d m .it b ing. unde stood ha changes in the precise embodiment. of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed without departingfrom the spirit of the invention. Inthe accompanying drawings; Figure 1 shows in side elevation, a stripping and rimm ng machin const cted in a ance with the present invention,;Fig. 2 is a top plan of the structure shown in Fig., l; Fig. 3 is anelevation depicting the opposite side of the machine,from.that shown in Fig; 1; Fig. 1 ,is a. perspe ct ive showing the cake-trough and attendant mechanism; Figs. 5,6, 7. 8 9 10 and 11 are diagrammatlc views v 2 illustrating the travel of ,the cake through the machine while ,the cake is being stripped an'djtrimmed; Fig. l2is .a perspective view delineating a portionof the mechanism whereloy the, stripping roller is reversed-to permit an unwinding of the cloth; Fig. elevation illustrating a slight modification in the means. .whereby the direction of rotation of the stripping roller roller 7 provided with teeth 8.

may be reversed, Fig. 1&1v a side elevation showing a modifiedform ofv the invention; F 1g. isv a top plan, of .the structure delineated in Fig. 14:; Fig. 15 is a fragmental transversesection showing the coo eration betweeiizthe yieldable cake support and the platforms I flln carrying out the. present .invention there is provided asupportingzstructure in the form of a frame .1. .Theframe 1 may be variously constructed and still exercise its function as a means for carrying the movable elements. whereby the stripping and trimming operations are efit'ected.

.Journaled for rotation in the lower portion, of, the supporting frame 1 is a drive shaft .2 carrying aLsproCket 3- about which isatrained a sprocket chain 1. 1 The drive shaft 2.m ay be actuated byany suitable mechanism such as a pulleyi-l00 and a belt 101. ,Qlhe sprocket chain 1 istrai'nedaround a sprocket; wheel 5'journaled for rotation upon a shaft 6 rotatably mounted upon the upper portion of the frame .1. Fixed to the shaft 6 to rotatetherewith is a stripping Splined upon the shaft 6 is a clutch 9 whereby the sprocket wheel 5.which is loose on the shaft 6. may be coupled upwiththe shaft 6. Noting particularly Fig; 12 it will be observed that an angular'clutch lever 10 is fulcrumed as shown at11 upon. theframe 1 and by means of a link '12.,one end of the lever '10 is connected with ahand lever 14 mounted to slide beneath a guide 15'0n the frame 1 andyfulcrumed at one end upon the frame 1 as shown at. 16. .Journaled in the frame 1 is a rock shaft 17 provided intermediate its ends with .a loop-shaped crank 18 and equipped at one endwith a'finger 19 which is adapted .to engage one end of the lever 10. Mounted upon the upperportion of the frame '1 as shown best .inFig. 1 is a pulley 22 about which is trained'a flexible element therefore, ismounted for vertical movement.

Hangers 27 depend from the frame 1 and act as fulcrums for an auxiliary frame shown in Fig. 4, the auxiliary frame comprising levers 28 connected by a cross rod 29. Pivot elements 30 are mounted in the guide blocks 25 of the cake trough 24 and 8 these. pivot elements are adapted to move in slots 31 formed in the levers 28 longitudinally thereof. Weights 32 are adjustably mounted upon the ends of the levers 28. It will now be obvious upon comparing Figs. 4 and 1 that the levers and the weights 32 serve to maintain the cake trough 24 in an uplifted position.

Extended transversely of the frame 1 and journaled thereon is a cake-guiding roller 33. Disposed upon theopposite side of the stripping roller 7 from the guiding roller 33 and hinged at 35 to the frame 1 is an inclined chute 34, resting upon a cross bar 36 yieldably supported upon the free upper ends of spring arms 37, the lower extremities of which are secured to the frame 1. 7

Extended transversely of the frame 1 and journaled therein is a shaft 38 carrying a trimming roller 39 which tapers in diameter from its ends toward its central portion, as

shown in Fig. 2. The trimming roller 39 is provided 'with a plurality of teeth 40. These teeth 40 are disposed in oppositely wound spiral lines about the trimming roller 39. The shaft 38 carries a pulley 41 about which is trained a belt 42 passed about a pulley 43 on the shaft 2.

Secured to the shaft 38 is a beveled pinion 44 meshing into a beveled pinion 45 secured to one end of a shaft 46 extended longitudinally of the frame 1 and journaled in bearings 47 on the frame 1. Splined as indicated at 48 upon the shaft 46 is a beveled pinion 49 meshing into a beveled pinion 50 secured to a shaft 51 journaled in bearings mounted to slide in the frame 1 (see Fig. 3), the bearings 52 being thrust toward'the shaft 38 by means of springs 53. The shaft 51 carries a roller 54provided with teeth 55,

the roller 54 and its teeth 55 being formed after the manner of the trimming roller 39 hereinbefore described in detail. In order to maintain the beveled pinions 49 and 50 in .mesh, a yoke 56 surrounds the shaft 51 and engages the beveled pinion 49, the shaft 46 being mounted to slide in the yoke. I A pair of cake supporting platforms 5 extend longitudinally ofthe frame 1.v The platforms 57 are connected with the frame 1 for swinging movement, and are upheld by means of spring hinges 58 (see Fig. 3). These hinges 58 are strong enough to hold the platforms 57 in approximately horizontal posit-ions when there is no cake upon the platforms, but when acake rests upon the platforms, the latter are upheld by latches 59 fulcrumedintermediate their ends upon the frame 1 and united at their outer ends with connections 60 controlled by crank arms 61 formed upon the ends of a rock shaft 62 extended transversely of the mapulley 68 on the drive shaft 2.

p The oil cake is shown at 69 and the press cloth around the oil cake is denoted by the numeral 70.

The operation of the device is as follows: One'edge of the cake 69 is placed in the cake I trough 24 and the free edge of the cloth 70 on the cake 69 is engaged with the teeth 8 on the stripping roller 7.. The lever 14 is manipulated and through the medium of the link 12 the lever 10 is swung on the fulcrum 11, the lever 10 actuating the clutch 9' and coupling up the sprocket wheel 5 with the shaft 6. Now the stripping roller 7 is rotated by means of a gear train comprising the shaft 6, the sprocket wheel 5, the sprocket chain 4, the sprocket wheel3 and the drive shaft 2. When the stripping roller 7 is rotated as above described, the cloth 70 on the cake 69 is'wound up on the stripping roller. As the shaft 6 is rotated to actuate the stripping roller 7 and to wind up the cloth 70, the flexible element 21 is wound up on the pulley 20 of the shaft 6 and'the.

weight 23 is elevated. Note Fig. 12. When the weight 23 has been elevated sufiiciently,

the weight strikes the crank 18 on the rock shaft 17 and rotates the latter, the finger 19 on the rock shaft engaging the lever 10 and serving to swing the lever. hen the lever 10 is swung on its fulcrum 11 by the action of the finger 19, the clutch 9 is withdrawn from operative connection with the driving sprocket wheel 5 and the shaft 6 no longer imparts a reverse rotation to the stripping roller. 7 Thus, the cloth'70 which has been wound upon the stripping roller 7 is unvwound therefrom and passes onto the endless conveyer 66 which is moving continuously, being driven by the crossed belt'67 and the pulley 68 on the drive shaft 2. By .means of the conveyer 66, the cloth 70 which has been unwrapped from the cake 69 is carried out of the machine. During the time the cake 69, the cake travels in a peculiar .that the cloth 70 is being unwrapped from su path which will be understood best from Figs. 5 to 11 inclusive, When the lower edge of the cake 69 rests in the trough 24 wound about the roller 7, the upper edge of the cakermoves laterally as indicated by the arrow Bin Fig. 7. Then the cake swings over onto the chute 34 and ascends thechnte 3.4, as shown by the reference arrow G in Fig. 8} The springs 37 serve to support the chute 3'4 yieldingly and prevent a breaking of the cake during'the operation above described. After the cake 69 has ascended the chutev 34 as shown by the arrow C, the cake,

as the cloth 70 is wound on the roller 7, ultimately starts to move in an opposite direction, as shown by the arrow in 9, and passes on top of and. across the roller 7. The

. cake 69, continuing to move as per arrow D as shown in Fig; 10, passes across the guiding roller 33 and onto the trimming roller 39'. The trimming roller 39 advances the cake 69 until the cake rests upon the platform 57. Since the trimming roller .54 is thrust toward the trimming roller 39 through the action of the springs 53 shown in Fig; 3, the teeth 40 and on the respective rollers will serve to-trim off the ends of the cake, the ends of the cake generally being comparatively rich in oil'. Since the teeth 55 and 40 on the respective rollers are disposed in oppositely woundspiral lines, the tendency of these teeth is to hold the cake in place on the platforms 57, and not to cause the cake to travel transversely of the machine and ride off the platforms, before the trimming operation has been completed.

The: roller 39 is driven by a gear train comprising'the following elements ;:the shaft 2, the pulley 43, the belt 42,the pjulley 41 and the shaft 38. The roller 54 is driven from'the shaftl38, by a gear trainjcomprising the'beveled pinion 44,.the beveled pinion 45, the shaft 46, thebe've'led pinion 49, the beveled'pin'ion50 ahd'the-shaft 51'. Owing to the fact that the beveledpinion 49 is splined as indicated at 48' to the shaft 46 and since the beveled pinions 49 and 50 are held in mesh by the yoke 56, it" is obvious that the roller 54 may'have the'necessary movement" due to the action of the springs 53, without losing its driving connection w'iththe shaft 46. After the cake 69 has been trimmed suficiently by therollers 39 and54, the rock shaft 612 is rotated through the medium of the handle 63, the connections actuating upon the latches 59 and withdrawing the inner ends of thelatches from beneath the platforms 57. Then the platforms 57 will swing downwardly under the weight of the superposed cake, and the cake will pass out of the machine, it thus being possible to pile up the cakes upon a truck (not shown) which may be placed beneath the platforms 57. lVhen the cake is free from the platforms57, the spring hinges 58 will swing the platforms 57, upwardly into approximate horizontal alinement as indicated in Fig.2.

InFig. 13 of the drawings]: have shown a modified means for reversing the direction of rotation of the stripping roller, in

orderto unwind the cloth on the oil cake. In Fig. 13 there is showna shaft 71 corresponding to the shaft 6, the shaft 71 carrying a stripping roller 72. Fixed to the shaft 71 are beveled pinions 7 3 adapted to mesh one at a time into a beveled pinion 74 secured to the upper end of a laterally swinging shaft 7 5 held for swinging movement in a frame supported bearing 76' and connected- .by means of a universal joint 7 7 with a shaft 78 rotatable but held against lQngitUdinalmOVement in a frame supported bearing 7 9 and carrying at its lower end a beveled pinion 80 meshing into a beveled pinion 81 secured to a shaft 82 correspond ingto the shaft 2'. The shaf 75'is actuate by means of a link 85 and a lever 83, to bring the beveled pinion 7 4 into mesh with either one ofthe beveled p-inions 7 3 at the will of the operator, a spring 84 being connected" with the lever 83.-

The simple structure delineated in Fig. 13 requires but a limited description so far as its operation is concerned, it being apparent to those skilled in the art that by moving the lever'83, the beveled pinion 74 may be brought into mesh with either of the beveled pinions 73, whereby the roller 72 may be rotated in one direction or in an opposite direction, from the drive shaft 82.

In Figs. 14, 1'5 and 16 of the drawing there is'shown a simplified form of the invention in'which the trimming mechanism is dispensed with. Many parts of the'device under consideration are of identical construction with the corresponding. parts in that formfirst described, and the description of the modification shown in Fig. 14 and following may be shortened accordingly. Referring 'to Figs. 14, 15 and 16, thefrarne orfsu'pporting structure is denoted by the reference character 200. The roller shaft is shown at 201 and theto'othed stripping roller is shown at 202'; The shaft 201 carries a loose pulley 203 which may receive a belt 204 to effect a rotation of the stripping roller. The'pulley 203 is operatively connected with the shaft 201 through the medium ofa'clutch205 'controlledby a clutch shifting mechanism of the sort depicted in '3 213 which are operatively connected with the ends of the trough or cake support 210 in the manner hereinbefore set forth, the ends of the levers 213 carrying adjustable weights 214. A deck 215 extends between the levers 213 and at the end of the deck 215 there is an upstanding stop 216. The cake guiding roller is shown at 217 and the' hinged chute is designated by the reference which are hinged to the side portions of the frame as shown at 221. In this form of the invention, spring hinges are not employed. Projecting from the ends of the platforms 220 are fingers 222 adapted to cooperate with cam blocks 223, fixed to and upstanding from one edge of the trough or cake support 210.

-The travel of the cake and the cloth through the machine remains as shown in Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. \Vhen the cloth is stripped off the cake, the cloth is deposited on the deck 215, the stop 216 serving to prevent the cloth from sliding off the deck. The stripped cake passes onto the platforms 220 which are upheld by the fingers 222, the latter elements engaging the cam blocks 223 on the cake support 210. When the cake support 210 moves downwardly under the action of a cake which is to be stripped, the cake which has been previously stripped and now lies upon the platforms 220 is released from the platforms, since, when the cake support 210 moves downwardly, the cam blocks 223 on the cake support will no longer coact with the fingers 222 to hold the platforms 220 in horizontal positions.

When the cake support 210 moves upwardly, the fingers 222 willtraverse" the inclined edges of the cam blocks 223 and position the platform 220 as shown in Fig. 16. It is to be noted that when the trough or cakesupport 210 moves downwardly, the platform 215, carrying the cloth, will be swung upwardly, bringing the cloth into easy reach of the operator, the cloth being pulled off the deck 215. Since the levers 213 and the deck 215 elevate the is claimed is 1. Ina device for strippinga cloth from a cake, a clothgstrippin'g means; a conveyer wind the cloth thereon; and a cake triml'nerv upon which the cake is deposited as the cloth is wound on the roller.

3. In a device for stripping a cloth from a cake, a stripping roller; means for rotating the roller in one direction tQ'Wli'ldfthQ cloth on the roller and to strip the cloth from the cake; means for reversing the direction of the roller to unwind the cloththerefrom; and a conveyer on which the clothis deposited when unwound from the-stripping roller.

4. In a device for stripping a cloth from a cake, a frame having guides;a cloth stripping roller journaled on the frame; a cake support movable in the guides and located below the roller; a lever fulcrumed inter-' mediate its ends on the frame and loosely connected with the support, the lever being counterwelghted ad acent one end to constitute means for elevating one end of the sup port; and'a receiving meansonto which the cake is advanced by the combined action of the cake stripping roller and'the cake support.

5. In a device for stripping a cloth from a cake, a yieldably mounted cake support; a cloth stripping roller journaled for rotation adjacent the cake support; and a chute upon which the cake is adapted to travel during a portion of the time in which the stripping roller is acting upon the cloth.

6. In a device for stripping a cloth from a cake, a cake supporting chute; a cloth strip- "ping roller j ournaled adjacent the chute and constituting means for depressing the cake and causing the'cake to pass beneath the roller and onto the chute; and yieldable means for supporting the cake as the cake passes beneath the roller and onto the chute.

7. In a device for stripping a cloth from a cake, a cloth stripping roller mounted for rotation; means for reversing thedirection for rotation of the roller; ayieldably mounted cake support located adjacent the roller; and a cake chute disposed adjacent the roller and adapted to receive the cake from the cake support.

8. In a device for stripping a cloth from a cake, a stripping roller; a primary driving means for rotating the stripping roller in onedirection; a clutch operatively connecting the primary driving means with the roller; a secondary driving means operatively connected with the roller to rotate the roller in an opposite direction;v and a device actuable by the secondary driving means and operatively connected with the clutch to disengage the primary driving means from the roller.

9. In a device for stripping a cloth from a cake, a stripping roller; a primary driving means for rotating the roller in one direction; a clutch operatively connecting the primary driving means with the roller; a power storing device operatively connected with the roller and rendered potential when the roller is rotated in said direction by the primary driving means; means operable by the power storing device and operatively connected with the clutch to disengage the primary driving means from the roller, thereby to render the power storing device kinetic to secure a reverse rotation of the roller.

10. In a machine for stripping a cloth from a cake, a stripping roller; means for rotating the roller in one direction; a clutch connecting said means with the roller; a retractile flexible element connected with the roller and adapted to be Wound thereon when the roller is rotated in said direction; a shifting mechanism operatively connected with the clutch; and means under the control of the flexible element for actuating the shifting mechanism.

11. In a device for stripping a cloth from a cake, a frame; opposed cake receiving platforms hinged to the frame; means for releasably holding the platforms in approxi mately horizontal position; means for stripping the cloth from the cake; and means for depositing the cake upon the platforms.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES R. MILLER.

Witnesses J. W. OMoHUNDRo, H. REAsT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

